Year: 2011
- Phuket News
Phuket meth dealers launch ‘white skin’ campaign
PHUKET: Police are concerned about a rise in the use of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) in Phuket and nearby provinces, and say drug dealers are falsely touting the powerful stimulant as a skin whitening agent to lure in new users. Pramote Phumprakun, superintendent of Narcotics Suppression Bureau Division (NSBD) precinct responsible for the Upper South, described the ya ice problem…
Read More » - Phuket News
Coffin’s out for the new Phuket cricket season!
PHUKET: The cricketing fraternity on Phuket is preparing for the upcoming 2011/2012 Island Furniture League, and all fixtures will be played at the sport’s new dedicated facility – the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) in Thalang. Martin Foster, club affairs representative of the Phuket Cricket Group, which is responsible for organizing and running the league, is looking forward to seeing the…
Read More » - Thai Life
Phuket Life & Style: Cassie’s colorful cotton collection in Phuket
PHUKET: Island Bliss sits next to the upscale wonders of Surin Plaza and features the designs of Cassie McMillan, an Australian who has settled on Phuket for the wonderful island lifestyle. She is no stranger to Asia as she lived in Hong Kong as a child where her father worked in import/export. She set up her own clothing and interior…
Read More » - Thai Life
Phuket Gardening: They’ve got it made in the shade
PHUKET: Planting some ground cover plants is a practical move that will add exceptional interest to your garden. For now, I’m going to pass on the most common ground cover plants in Thailand, such as the spider lily and the spiral ginger, both of which attain heights of over 50 centimeters and are practically employed in undercover environments all over…
Read More » - Thai Life
Phuket Gardening – still waters run deep
PHUKET: Asians prize water features in their gardens – from the humble pot in the front yard with its mandatory water lily and darting swordtail fish, to the blue fiberglass fish pond with a row of pebbles embedded in its rim. If you’re lucky, you may have a natural pond or klong (canal) within the bounds of your property. Unarguably,…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket Veg Fest threat: your “fake’ meat might be real
PHUKET: Officials are conducting inspections of food stalls taking part in the Phuket Vegetarian Festival following reports that some unscrupulous vendors have been lacing “artificial meat” dishes with real meat products in order to make them more attractive to potential consumers. “Artificial meat” dishes are a staple among many who take part in the annual 10-day purification ritual, during which…
Read More » - Thai Life
Phuket petrol names fuel confusion
PHUKET: Filling up with fuel in Thailand is a lot like ordering food for the first time in a foreign country – you point to the most visually appealing choice and hope for the best. The types of fuel on sale in Thai gasoline stations – known locally as petrol pumps – are different to what you’re used to at…
Read More » - Phuket News
Supermodel search lands in Phuket
PHUKET: A bevy of beauties participating in the Look Supermodel Search 2011 beauty pageant will visit Phuket next Monday and Tuesday to take part in various activities. The 12 models are scheduled to meet Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and hand out cloth bags at Provincial Hall at 11:45am on Monday, before visiting the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) offices. The…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket Veg Fest processions hit the streets
PHUKET: Day three of the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival today was highlighted by a loud and colorful procession through the streets of Phuket Town by members of the Sapam Shrine in Koh Kaew. Adherents, including many mah song spirit mediums, were up early to prepare for the walk, which took place under relatively dry conditions, given the recent rainfall on…
Read More » - Phuket News
Officials admit fear of reprisals killing Phuket bus plans
PHUKET: Top Phuket officials have openly admitted that fear of reprisals by taxi and tuk-tuk drivers is preventing people from launching affordable bus services between Phuket’s main tourist beaches. Phuket Vice Governor Weerawat Janpen yesterday chaired a meeting at the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) to discuss strategies to resolve the decades old problem of tourists being cheated by “transportation…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket lays claim to Thailand’s biggest “musical fountain’
PHUKET: Phuket is now home to Thailand’s biggest musical fountain after a grand opening ceremony and premiere performance at Saphan Hin on Monday night. More than 100 people turned up to see the first show. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha lauded the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) for creating a tourist attraction outside central Phuket Town, a factor he said would…
Read More » - Thai Life
Building a future in Phuket
PHUKET: Three young boys from a government school in Phuket Town will fly to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to compete in the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) 2011 in November. Pakin “Paper” Boonlom, Tipok “Nueng” Kinkobsin, and Boonyarit “Tel” Pulsen – all 11 years old – won their age category in a national competition in Bangkok last month.…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket Debacle: Bus Terminal 2 may never open
PHUKET: As Phuket Bus Terminal 2 approaches its second birthday, the Phuket Land Transport Office [PLTO] is determined to open the facility by the end of the year, despite continued resistance from Rassada Municipality where it is located (click here to see PGtv footage). The latest discussion about the problems facing the station came at a meeting of the Phuket…
Read More » - Phuket News
Aphrodite Cabaret opens tonight in Phuket
PHUKET: The Aphrodite Cabaret Show will hold its soft opening tonight with a special private performance for the media, government officials and other selected guests. Aphrodite General Manager Siri Deejingtrakool told the Phuket Gazette, “The soft opening will be held tonight, but we have not decided on a date for the grand opening yet. But after tonight we will open…
Read More » - Thai Life
“Going ape’ in the trees of Chalong
PHUKET: Phuket’s new Xtremadventures park offers a full-on arboreal experience. Zipping, climbing, crawling, balancing and swinging through the trees of Phuket is no longer left to the domain of the monkey. The island is now home to an adventure park unrivaled by others in size and an innovative first in all of Asia. Xtremadventures Phuket – owned by Frenchman Gilles…
Read More » - Thai Life
Looking back: Prah Mongkol Visut of Phuket – a lifetime
PHUKET: Prah Mongkol Visut is one of Phuket’s most revered monks. Locals fondly refer to him as ‘Luang Pu Supha’. On September 17, Luang Pu Supha celebrated his 115th birthday, unofficially making him the oldest living man in the world. Luang Pu Supha was born in 1896. Since then, the revered monk has seen drastic and unimaginable change in his…
Read More » - Property
Phuket Property: Foreign currency exchange risks
PHUKET: Many foreigners who have decided to buy a residential property in Thailand are required to use funds held in foreign currency in their country of origin. Property transactions in Thailand utilize myriad ways in which a buyer pays the purchase price to the seller. For instance, a buyer may be required to make payments to the seller upon signing…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket Airport tipped to reach breaking point
PHUKET: With tourism numbers surging, Phuket International Airport is expecting a record four million passenger arrivals for the year 2011. As arrivals to Asia’s leading resort destination in the first half of the year increased 20% over the same period in 2010 and an unprecedented number of new hotel rooms opened, sagging infrastructure is creating a widespread danger to the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Fried Noodles: Transformer explodes, food cart incinerated
PHUKET: The explosion of an electrical transformer in Phuket this afternoon incinerated a noodle vendor’s cart, injured a woman, and damaged several vehicles. The fire followed the explosion of a transformer in front of a townhouse project across from the Ocean View Phuket Hotel on Sirirat Road, which runs from Patong to Karon. Roadside noodle vendor Kanjana Sonjai, 29, said,…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket’s 70.3 Ironman gets Kailua-Kona slots
PHUKET: Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship at Laguna Phuket has scored a major coup by securing 30 qualifying slots from the World Triathlon Corporation for its prestigious 2012 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Laguna is one of only three worldwide Ironman 70.3 triathlons to offer 2012 Kona slots and the only one in Asia-Pacific. The legendary Ironman World Championship…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket’s Gov to bring illegal hotels into the fold
PHUKET: Tri Augkaradacha, Phuket’s 43rd governor, was promoted to the top job on October 1, 2010, when he set tourism promotion as his prime policy objective. Here, in his regular monthly “Governor’s Letter” in the Phuket Gazette, he talks about the problem of unregistered hotels, a stalled road project, and the coincidence that he and PM Yingluck Shinawatra are both…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket Island View – Soi Dog in it for the long haul
PHUKET: THE recent Gazette online story about Soi Dog Foundation’s new cat hospital prompted a forum comment that justifies a response. The writer queried how the Soi Dog Foundation could justify spending money on such a facility at the same time it was appealing for funds to purchase the remaining land where its shelter and headquarters are based. In 2009,…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket’s Sri Panwa is ready to pilot minimum wage
PHUKET: One of the island’s most luxurious lodgings says it’s ready to pilot daily minimum wages of 300 baht, after the government named Phuket as one of six provinces (along with Bangkok) where higher pay will be introduced first. Songkran Issara, the managing director of Charn Issara Development, which runs the Sri Panwa resort at Cape Panwa, said the company…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket’s rice prices set to rise
PHUKET: Menus in Phuket and across Thailand will soon be revised with the price of rice set to jump as a result of the Yingluk administration’s changes to the rice mortgaging scheme. Pitched as a mechanism to increase rice farmer’s incomes and spending power, the controversial program – first implemented by the Thaksin administration six years ago – will offer…
Read More » - Thai Life
Phuket books – Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff
PHUKET: Mitchell Zuckoff is a hack journalist and a very good one. His specialty is dredging up old forgotten stories and making them new again. His latest effort is Lost in Shangri-La (Harper Press, New York, 2011, 384pp). “Escape from a Hidden World – A True Story” is the subtitle of this tale of a plane wreck and rescue in…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket Live Wire: Choosing the right internet landline
PHUKET: In my last Live Wire column I talked about the three general types of internet connections available in Phuket: landlines, wireless and satellite. This week I’ll explain how to find the right landline. Next week I’ll tackle wireless. The most important point to understand about landlines is that they’re changing all the time. Two years ago, 3BB had the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Lengthen your contact, don’t follow through
PHUKET: This week’s tennis tip is on length of contact, comes courtsey of Travis Bertram who is the Tennis Director for Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club, Phuket. Length of contact is the length of the swing forwards at the moment of impact with the ball. Forget the term “follow through” and promise to never say it again! Follow through is…
Read More » - Phuket News
Rubber barriers saving lives in Phuket
PHUKET: Old car tyres being used to create median strips along Chao Fa West Road in Chalong have reduced fatal accidents by almost 100 per cent, say Phuket police. The rubber barriers comprise tyres stacked three high, tied together and painted red and white. “We have installed these stacks on the median of dangerous sections of road,” explained Chalong Police…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket’s “baby dumping’ rise sparks stateless alarm
PHUKET: The rising number of babies being abandoned on Phuket is causing alarm among the authorities, with the director of the Phuket Shelter for Children and Families voicing concern that babies who cannot be identified possibly becoming “stateless”. The shelter has been notified of more than 20 babies being abandoned since October 1 last year. The actual number is probably…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket sporting action round-up
PHUKET: A round-up of Phuket’s sporting action and players. Young gun slinger Phuket’s speed-merchant Dylan Young raced at the weekend’s JK Asia Racing Series in Singapore, for the Atlantic Racing Team. The 22-year old had secured a place for the premier open wheeler support category to the Singtel Singapore Formula One event and managed to finish in 8th spot on…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket Rugby Challenge trophy a sizzling success
PHUKET: Blistering heat heralded the first Phuket Rugby Challenge Trophy sponsored by Heineken Thailand played at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club, and DEA Tigers from Hong Kong are the inaugural champions. Using the International Rugby Board (IRB) approved synthetic surface at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club, Bedok Kings and DEA Tigers from Hong Kong, the Singapore Bucks and host club…
Read More » - Thai Life
Brand Andara and investing in Phuket
PHUKET: The American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Greater Phuket chapter held an event last week where record crowds turned out to hear Hong Kong billionaire Dr Allan Zeman give his thoughts on what it takes to make a business venture successful. Hundreds of Phuket developers, resort industry professionals and business people packed into the chic Silk restaurant at Andara Resort…
Read More » - Phuket News
Haitang fallout batters Phuket
PHUKET: The Thai Meteorological Department has issued another tropical storm warning coviering much of Thailand, including the Andaman provinces of Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Satun. The Thai Meteorological Department issued its initial warning after tropical storm “Haitang” made landfall at Hu, Vietnam at 4am yesterday. The national weather office re-issued its warning at 10:30 last night, following…
Read More » - Phuket News
Rampaging Phuket elephant whereabouts unclear
PHUKET: The whereabouts and future plans for Captain, the bull elephant that went on a rampage on September 12 sending a Ukrainian honeymooner to hospital with two broken legs, remain unclear amid dubious claims by the owners of Camp Chang Kalim. In response to claims that Captain was the same elephant involved in a previous rampage in January 2010 that…
Read More » - Phuket News
Honesty in football
PHUKET: “I think the Premier league is a strong product because there’s a tremendous honesty in our game and fans play a part in that.” Manchester United’s evergreen manager Sir Alex Ferguson asserting that football is a business. However, it seems that as the Scot reaches seventy-years-old his interpretation of honesty has become skewed somewhat. The fans maybe honest, but…
Read More » - Phuket News
Thailand relinquish Asian volleyball title
PHUKET: Thailand’s hopes of retaining the Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship crown were dashed in Taiwan last week losing to Japan at the semi-final stage. The reigning champions went down 25-13, 20-25, 25-18, 23-25, 15-13 to the world number four team, who exacted vengeance for their defeat by Thailand at the same stage last year. Despite the loss, an automatic…
Read More » - Phuket News
Kittipong out of Thailand Open
PHUKET: With a round of the Chang International Tennis Federation Thailand Pro Circuit 2011 being hosted at Thanyapura in Phuket next month, it is hoped that Thai number two, Kittipong Wachiramanowong, will participate. Yesterday, the 20-year-old lost in the first round of the PTT Thailand Open to his idol Robin Haase of the Netherlands, going down 6-3 7-6 7-1 at…
Read More »
